孟买，10月13日——印度国家支付公司周二表示，印度已决定将对通过广受欢迎的统一支付接口平台进行的大额交易征收手续费的措施推迟至排灯节之后实施。
MUMBAI, Oct 13 - India has postponed the rollout of a fee on large payments via its popular Unified Payments Interface platform until after the Diwali festival, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said on Tuesday.
原定从10月15日起，对于交易金额超过2000卢比（约合21美元）的商户将收取0.4%的手续费。
A 0.4% charge for merchants on transactions exceeding 2,000 rupees ($21) was scheduled to take effect on October 15.
印度国家支付公司在声明中称，此次推迟是“考虑到节日期间的特殊情况”，该手续费将在排灯节过后立即实施，具体日期将另行通知。
The deferral is "keeping in mind the festive season", and the fee will be implemented immediately after the Hindu festival on a date that will be notified separately, NPCI said in a statement.
排灯节将于11月8日在全印度各地庆祝，这一节日通常是这个亚洲第三大经济体的消费旺季，民众会大量购买汽车、服装及家用电器。
Diwali, which will be celebrated across India on November 8, typically marks the peak of consumer spending in Asia's third-largest economy, with shoppers splurging on cars, clothes and home appliances.
这项拟议中的手续费措施一旦实施，将终结印度UPI支付服务六年多来免手续费的历史，因此引发了零售商的反对。
The proposed fee, which would end more than six years of zero-cost UPI payments in India, had drawn opposition from retailers.
代表数百万实体零售商的印度全国零售商联合会在一份声明中称，这一推迟决定“恰逢其时且务实合理”。
The postponement is "timely and pragmatic", the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which represents millions of brick-and-mortar retailers, said in a statement.
该联合会还指出，这一决定是在9月30日约20名行业代表与印度财政部长会面后作出的。
The decision follows a meeting of around 20 trade industry representatives with India's finance minister on September 30, CAIT said.
据路透社上周援引消息人士的话报道，推迟实施该措施有助于支付服务企业升级系统，避免将成本转嫁给消费者，同时也能解决零售商在节日期间可能遇到的各类问题。
The delay in implementation would likely allow payments firms to upgrade systems and not pass on costs to customers, while addressing issues that retailers may face during the festive period, Reuters reported last week, citing sources.
印度支付行业协会主席维什瓦斯·帕特尔表示，行业各方已做好在节日过后实施该手续费措施的准备。
The industry would be ready to implement the fee after the festive season, said Vishwas Patel, chairman of the Payment Council of India, an industry group.
目前，超过5亿印度民众使用UPI平台进行各类消费，从一杯茶到iPhone均可购买。今年8月，沃尔玛旗下的PhonePe与谷歌旗下的Google Pay在UPI交易总额中所占的市场份额合计约为80%。
UPI is used by over 500 million people to buy everything from cups of tea to iPhones. Walmart's PhonePe and Alphabet's Google Pay had about 80% market share by value of UPI transactions in August.
这一消息公布后，数字支付企业Paytm、Pine Labs及One MobiKwik Systems的股价分别上涨了1%、1.8%和1.3%。
Shares of digital payments firms Paytm, Pine Labs and One MobiKwik Systems gained 1%, 1.8% and 1.3%, respectively, after the news.
“这份公告明确表明，商户折扣率政策必将实施，且不会再出现任何反对声音……与此前关于实施时间的不确定性相比，这无疑是个好消息，”多拉特资本的研究总监拉胡尔·贾恩说道。“这对相关企业而言是个利好，”他补充道。
"The notice...brings certainty that the MDR (Merchant Discount Rate) is going to be implemented and there is no more scope of any pushback...versus the earlier uncertainty around the timeline," said Rahul Jain, director of research at Dolat Capital. "That is a positive for the companies," he added.